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Jared Lee Loughner indicted in Gabrielle Giffords shooting

Further charges against the alleged gunman are likely to be forthcoming. | AP/Arizona Daily Star/Myspace
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But, others, including President Barack Obama and the local sheriff, have suggested in public remarks that the judge’s visit was more casual and social in nature.

Justice Department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the absence of the Roll and Zimmerman charges from the indictment did not indicate any problem. Rather, they said, the FBI and prosecutors wanted more time to investigate the circumstances of the slayings, especially because those charges could lead to the death penalty.

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“That makes a lot of sense to me,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola (Calif.) Law School and a former federal prosecutor. “This is not an easy case when it comes to the death penalty. It’s horrific crime, but it has complicating factors.”

Filing a “death-eligible” indictment would immediately set in motion a process for Attorney General Eric Holder and a Justice Department panel to consider whether to seek the death penalty. That process also involves giving defense counsel an opportunity to argue against such a penalty.

In recent days, a number of prominent commentators, such as former New York mayor and federal prosecutor Rudy Giuliani, have said publicly that they believe that Loughner was suffering from untreated mental illness. A videotape released by police at the community college Loughner attended includes rambling comments about staff at the school being paid illegally and about teachers violating his freedom of speech.

Legal analysts have said an insanity defense may be Loughner’s only viable response to the charges. Even if such a defense falls short, mental issues could spare him the death penalty, because mental illness is one mitigating factor jurors can consider. Loughner’s attorney, Judy Clarke, is known for persuading prosecutors to accept the certainty of a guilty plea in exchange for taking the death penalty off the table.

The maximum penalty for Loughner on the charges filed Wednesday is life in prison.

“I wouldn’t speculate that they have proof problems on the murders,” McCarthy said. “This bare-bones, somewhat incomplete indictment will take the time pressure off while being serious enough to justify keeping Loughner in custody.”

Whatever the result of the federal case, Arizona authorities have the right to pursue their own charges and have said they will do so. The deaths of four of the six people killed and the injuries to others during the rampage may never be subject to federal charges, but they can be pursued in state court.

Federal law, however, gives federal authorities the right to proceed first in any case involving an attempted assassination.

Loughner, 22, was tackled by others at the site of the shooting and taken into custody soon thereafter. He has been held without bail.

Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, continues to recuperate from the shooting and is expected to be transferred Friday to a rehabilitation hospital.

These indictments were issued by a federal grand jury. The other four victims were not federal employees, so if the gunman is indicted for these murders it will be by the state/local prosecutor. I would expect the gunman is eventually convicted of both federal and state crimes.

Only from the mind of a pathetic Palinist, a teabaggie conservative fruit cake....who else would do such a thing? Killing a 9 year old girl and 3 elderly people. This is what the conservatives and teabaggies and palinists really are, people. This is their true colors. Palin is 100% responsible for this, along with Fixed Noise (some call it Fox 'News', HA! that's a laugh) and the radio racists and hate mongers and fear mongers like Limpbaugh taking advantage of the easily impressed and influenced sheeple (their audiences) Sheeple incapable of critical and independent thinking. Human life, especially that of a 9 year old girl is worth nothing to them, so they will continue with the hate and the racism and the anger and the evil they truly are. This is what they are people. Face the evil. Fixed Noise, the Conservatives and the Teabaggies already have the signs up: Palin/Loughner 2012. Fixed Noise, the Conservatives and the Teabaggies already have the signs up: Palin/Loughner 2012. Fixed Noise, the Conservatives and the Teabaggies already have the signs up: Palin/Loughner 2012. Fixed Noise, the Conservatives and the Teabaggies already have the signs up: Palin/Loughner 2012. Fixed Noise, the Conservatives and the Teabaggies already have the signs up: Palin/Loughner 2012. Fixed Noise, the Conservatives and the Teabaggies already have the signs up: Palin/Loughner 2012. They're enjoying this as they enjoyed the shooting of the defenseless women's health clinic doctor doing his job LEGALLY, LEGALLY. They celebrated his shooting death. This is what they really are. They disgust me, they disgust me.This is the face of evil, people. Is this what you want to be associated with, is this what you find sharing a common 'values' with? Wow, I feel sorry for you, because you're no better than they are.

Regardless of whatever indictment is handed down in the case, the big fight now is an expected change of venue motion by the defense, probably to my home town of San Diego. The assigned judge, and both defense attorneys are headquartered here, so it's very feasible that Judge Burns will have it moved here, since every single federal judge in Arizona has been recused. What a zoo that will be here, especially since the Police Dept is about to lay off ( the mayor says) 108 officers. Think I'll stay out of downtown when the trial starts.

The truth needs to be told about Loughner. Finally someone reported on Loughner's regular use of the hallucinogenic drug salvia (The NY Times). He was also a 9/11 truther influenced by the film "Zeitgeist" according to his friends.

Just a comment on the hate-filled screed by "Don't Retreat, Reloa... (Party: Conservative)" riiiight. The way that you repeat the same sentence six times (as if we don't get it the first time) reminds me of Jack Nicholson's character in "The Shining", and his descent into madness. Sarah Palin didn't shoot anyone. Neither did Rush Limbaugh. Loughner appears to have been influenced by Adolf Hitler and Karl Marx. He became "agitated" whenever George W. Bush appeared on television. Loughner should have been committed a long time ago. The fact that he wasn't speaks volumes about the Pima County leadership, or lack thereof. The fact that The Democrats used this tragedy to gin up talking points to support their agenda, is despicable.